Taking iPhone 6 design concepts to the next level: printable 3D

Dozens of iPhone 6 concepts have emerged in recent months from the minds of clever designers and Apple fanatics, but new files that can be fed to 3D printers to pump out tangible plastic mock-ups take the iPhoney craze to a whole new level.

For $US25, designer Martin Hajek will sell you 3D files for printing out an iPhone 6 concept with a 4.7-inch screen. The creation won't work, but it will give you a feel for what the smartphone might be like.

The files are based on a leaked iPhone 6 design published by MacFan magazine. The design can be printed on a device such as a Makerbot printer or via a 3D printing service.

Arthur Tilly, another person eager to see a real iPhone 6, published on Thingiverse plans to print out 4.7-inch or 5.5-inch next-generation iPhones. The files are free.

(We wonder if you could get really trippy and print the phony smartphones via your current iPhone using a 3D printing app.)

The latest rumors have Apple surpassing its current 4-inch screens with new models later this year (possibly August, possibly September, or both) that could be 4.7- and/or 5-inches. That would make the Apple offerings more comparable, at least size-wise, to popular HTC and Samsung smartphones.

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